Another Selection from the Vault!

Here is another piece of my old writing that I dug up! For the record this is a fictional account, and I anonymized the character names.

Poor Mommy!

One day "Derek" went to the kitchen to look at Mommy. Finding no one there, he noticed cake preparations for "Alex's" birthday. he got them down on the floor. He then proceeded to make a mess out of the kitchen. He splattered Jell-O all over the walls, then smeared the floor with cake batter. When Mommy came in, "Derek" said, "Look, I did a super job!" Poor Mommy!

~Mac

A Man and a Half!

My brother and sister got me a really fun and unusual gift this past week . . .

Yes. It's a kilt. But not just ANY kilt. This is a digital camo SPORT KILT! How great is that!?!? :-)

After I got it, I had to think of an outfit to wear with it. After consulting various fashion-conscious family members, I decided to wear a white shirt and sport coat with it. Since I don't have the right combat boots to go with it, I had to settle for shoes and long socks. I think the overall effect is nice!

Now I want some accessories to go with it - like a camo beret, or a sporran, or those long socks with a dagger to stick inside them!

These were taken before I left for choir practice. THAT was fun - wearing a kilt to choir practice :-)

Sport Kilt's website says "A man in a kilt is a man and a half!" and so far people who have seen me in it seem to agree. Hmm, I wonder if I should bring it to the next CP! function I attend?

~Mac

God's Glorious Creation!

This morning we woke to about an inch of snow and a clear morning sky. As I watched the beauty of the world unfold, I was reminded of that familiar passage at the beginning of Psalm 19:

Our front yard covered with a light snow

1 "The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above^a proclaims his handiwork."

Ice on our front steps

2 "Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard."

As the sun hit them, the snow-covered trees turned a delicate pink - beautiful!

4 "Their voice^b goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world."

The rising sun shining through a snow-covered tree

"In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy."

One word to describe this - BEAUTIFUL!

6 "Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat."

Praise the Lord for His wonderful creation!

~Mac

The Teacher I'll Never Forget

Well, after posting that first poem, I finally found some of my oooooold poems . . . you know, the ones I wrote in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. Here's one of my personal favorites:

The Teacher I'll Never Forget

My mother is my greatest teacher,

She's so good I love to keep her,

She encourages me in my school,

She is so good and cool!

She loves me and I love her,

And so you see,

That's why I want to keep her.

I like her best when she gets up,

She makes breakfast, and it's time to sup,

And she never forgets to make

Special treats like my birthday cake.

She's so good that I don't want

Any other teacher to push her out.

I might express them differently today, but those sentiments are still 100% true! I love you Mom! Thanks for putting in all the hard work and sacrifice to teach me and make me the student and person that I am today :-)

(And you can tell that this was written a long time ago - that was back when she made breakfast! :O)

~Mac

New Music Gear!

Well, I got a new amp today!

It's a Vox VT20+. It's a 30 watt amp with an 8" speaker, and man can it get loud! It sounds amazing too! It has 33 different amp models and oodles of sweet-sounding effects :-)

^ The secret to the VT20+'s amazing sound and feel: it's a real deal tube amp! There is the tube glowing with happiness :-)

^ Gotta love those retro "chicken-head" knobs! :-)

I played it for about one and a half hours after I got it and I almost forgot about studying! It's gonna be a great addition to the gear stash.

~Mac

As Was Promised of Old . . .

Sorry, I couldn't think of another way to title this post that didn't sound boring.

Anyway, as I promised, here is the recipe for the phyllo spinach triangles featured in this post:

http://godswarriorintraining.blogspot.com/2011/01/random-happenings-and-accomplishments.html

(You don't have to look at the nutrition facts btw ;-))

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Spinach Phyllo Triangles

From: Better Homes and Gardens

This succulent take on the classic Greek snack gets its rich flavor from feta cheese and spinach.

Phyllo dough dries very quickly so keep sheets covered until needed.

Servings: Makes 36 triangles

Prep: 50 mins

Total: 1 hr 5 mins

Ingredients

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups finely crumbled feta cheese (6 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

24 sheets frozen phyllo dough (9 x14-inch rectangles), thawed

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. For filling, cook the spinach, onion, and garlic according to spinach package directions.

Drain well in a colander. Press mixture with the back of a spoon to remove excess moisture.

Combine spinach mixture with feta cheese and oregano.

2. Place one sheet of phyllo dough on a cutting board or other flat surface.

Lightly brush with some of the melted butter (or spray with butter-flavored spray).

Place another sheet of phyllo on top; brush with butter. (Keep remaining phyllo covered with plastic wrap until needed.)

3. Cut the 2 layered sheets lengthwise into 3 equal strips, each 14 inches long.

Spoon 1 well-rounded teaspoon of filling about 1 inch from an end of each dough strip.

To fold into a triangle, bring a corner over filling so the short edge lines up with the side edge.

Continue folding the triangular shape along the strip until the end is reached. Repeat with remaining phyllo, butter, and filling.

4. Place triangles on a baking sheet; brush with butter. Bake in a 375 degree F oven about 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

5. Makes 36 triangles (18 appetizer servings)

6. Make-ahead directions: Prepare Phyllo Triangles through step 3.

Place the unbaked triangles in a covered freezer container; freeze for up to 2 months.

Brush with additional melted butter and bake as directed. Do not thaw the triangles before baking.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 124, Total Fat 8 g, Saturated Fat 4 g, Monounsaturated Fat 3 g, Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g,

Cholesterol 23 mg, Sodium 239 mg, Carbohydrate 9 g, Total Sugar 1 g, Fiber 1 g, Protein 3 g.

Daily Values: Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 2%, Calcium 6%, Iron 4%. Exchanges: Other Carbohydrate .5, High-Fat Meat .5, Fat 1.

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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Enjoy!

~Mac

Persuaded to Post Poetry

Well, several other friends of mine have posted poetry on their blogs, so I have finally decided to follow suit and dust off one of my poems I wrote a few years ago that has never seen the light of day (I may pull out some of my OLD poems later):

It was running a few days late;

I couldn’t wait till it arrived.

Then the box finally came one day;

I grabbed it and hurried back inside.

It was my long-awaited “heart’s desire” -

The fulfillment I had always lacked.

For the next few weeks I was in heaven,

As I enjoyed this cure for emptiness.

But today I’m waiting once again -

The last one turned out to be a fake.

I’m hoping against hope that this new thing

Will satisfy my constant ache.

Why is it that things never satisfy?

My wish-list’s still just as long

Even after I’ve filled my life with stuff

That I thought would fill the void.

She and I, we felt that we

Were meant for each other

We’d laugh when we were together,

Because it covered up the need within.

That was months ago, now we’ve both moved on,

In search of a bigger and better thrill.

Our life together petered out,

Because we couldn’t keep each other filled.

Alone again, I feel the pain

- rising up from deep inside -

Of a life that’s been lived in vain,

I desperately seek again to try to find

For the record I never had a relationship like the one in the poem/song, but I have seen, heard about, and read about many such relationships and I thought it tied in well to the first part of the poem/song.

I thought about ending the poem with the fourth verse as kind of a chorus but I didn't get any farther than this. I also have no idea what I should title it :-P

So anyway, there's one of my poems - rough though it may be :-P Feedback or suggestions anyone?

~Mac

Snow Day! Part Two

Our second snow day involved different activities than the first day, mostly because the snow had lost its "stickiness" and was more icy. We did a good bit of sledding down the sides of the steep ravines in our woods, and towards the end of the day I turned to snow sculpture. We built one half of a chess set and I built a Carcassonne man! :-) (For all of you who haven't heard of Carcassonne: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcassonne_(board_game))

For the chess set, I basically looked for chunks of snow that looked roughly like the shapes I wanted to make and then "chiseled" it into its finished form with a hand trowel.

^ Here is one of the knights (horses) I built for the chess set.

^ The King!

^The full chess set! Back left to right: rook, knight, bishop, king, queen, bishop, knight, rook. The front row is obviously all pawns.

^ The Carcassonne man under construction. (I made him out of a biggish single snowball)

^ The finished product! :-)

~Mac

Snow Day! Part One

We got our first biggish snow of the new year this week! Here are some pictures from the happy day:

^ Our almost-famous ten foot high snowman complete with hat, pipe and grin! (that's an eight foot stepladder standing next to it btw)

^ The "dartboard" my sister and I made with a decent group on it.

^The battleground in the front yard: two snowforts with snowmen in between for attackers to take cover behind!

~Mac

1:11:11 1/11/11

Our family likes to celebrate all kinds of occasions, some a bit stranger than others. Some of the unique celebrations take place for dates and times where all the numbers match, and one such event occured this afternoon!

^My sister and some of my brothers use military time.

I think the whole thing is really some kind of strategy to get more dessert per year than we would otherwise have, but regardless of the motives behind it, I heartily endorse such celebrations! I hope everyone else had a wonderful 1:11:11 1/11/11 too!

~Mac

"But He Gives More Grace"

In devotions we're going through the book of Daniel, and today's reading was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednigo's reply to the king's ultimatum: bow down or be burned! We were all struck by the conviction and faith in their reply. They accepted the fact that God could save them or choose not to, and they stood by their belief. This passage prompted some self-examination: what about us? What would our response be to such a dilemma? Each of us, if left to our own strength, would surely follow our earthly desires, deny our Lord, and save our earthly lives. I personally, even with the grace God has given me currently, do not see how I could possibly choose to do right in the face of such an agonizing death. But praise be to God for His sufficient grace in the midst of trials!

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

These verses give me great comfort and encouragement as I look to what the future holds for me and for this country. In the face of persecution God will give us the grace we need to stand for Him when we could not humanly do so.

~Mac

Random Happenings and Accomplishments

I was thinking about doing a "remembering 2010, goals for 2011" post but after reading everyone else's excellent posts on that topic, I don't think I can compete. So I will list some of the things that I have done over New Years:

1) I attended a New Year's Eve Gala with the family. We went to our friends' church and used their fellowship hall for a dance! There were about 60 people there. We danced line and circle dances, a polka, and the broomstick waltz. Nothing like ringing in the new year with three plus hours of dancing! :-)

2) New Year's Day we had our unit celebration for our homeschool curriculum. Each student picked an ancient culture to represent, gave a presentation based on the culture, and made a food of the culture - my favorite part :-D

^ My sister's AMAZING phyllo spinach triangles from Greece!

^ Leek soup from Egypt.

^ Greek salad! :-)

^ My laden plate (clockwise from top): Greek salad, chicken couscous from Israel, noodles from China, flat bread from India, squash from North America

45 minutes later . . .

what a great curriculum huh? :-)

3) January 2nd I sang a duet for the offertory for our church as part of a wonderful New Years service :-)

4) I went to a book study Monday night. A group of about 12 guys are going through Crazy Love by Francis Chan. A challenging and thought-provoking book!

5) Random accomplishments:
* I made my bed completely by feel in the dark Saturday night
* I tied my tie while singing a hymn during choir rehearsal Sunday (good thing I can tie ties without a mirror!)
* My brother and I made two batches of "mookies" (man cookies) Monday afternoon. We taped ourselves doing it and made it into an impromptu cooking show/MythBusters episode.